Category — Linux

No one learns how to ride a bike from a video. People learn by doing. The same goes for learning Linux - or anything, for that matter (like a business, perhaps?). You need to do something more than just install it and browse the internet.

I learned Linux by setting up different types of servers on Linux. I, by no means, claim to be an expert, however, I am comfortable at the Unix Shell and know enough about it to troubleshoot my way through most problems.

The first project that I did on Linux was setting up a Jabber instant message server (I assume the same one Google uses for gtalk and Meebo uses for its web client). Previous to this I had some basic Linux experience but not much more than copying, pasting, and editing files and doing a couple of make installs. Although, at the time, this was one of the most frustrating things that I have ever done, I learned so much about Linux.

Since then I have done many projects on various distros of Linux including my latest project, a Personal Video Recorder. Each time I have expanded my knowledge and familiarity with Linux but none have been as challenging as the first.

This is why I encourage you to push your way through that first Linux project. Even if you get frustrated and don’t finish, instead of quiting, move on to something a little easier, then later come back to the problem you were having before. The experience of a failed attempt is better than no experience at all. -E

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In case anyone else likes getting their hands dirty with do-it-yourself projects and wants to build a Personal Video Recorder, take a look at the sites below that helped me along the way. My box is currently an old Dell, a Hauppauge PVR-350, Mythtv, and Ubuntu 5.06. I haven’t successfully been able to get the tv card’s tv-out to work properly yet, but I am working on it. Anyhow, here are the sites that helped me, hope they are useful to someone else.

A great tutorial, even though is is geared towards Fedora users

The tutorial I started using

After running into some problems with the iVTV drivers, I found this one

Myth Documentation

If you want to use Knoppmyth (a distro specificly for Mythtv) try this tutorial instead

Remember, with Linux, logged error messages, the documentation, and the web forums are your friends.

Good luck. -E

Technorati Tags: Do It Yourself, DIY, Personal Video Recorder, PVR, Ubuntu, Mythtv, Hauppauge, PVR-350, Dell, Knoppmyth, iVTV, Linux, Error Messages, Documentation, Error Logs, Forums, Tv card